This week, News 4 of Reno, Nev., ran a story about a local funeral home that has been storing embalmed bodies at Airport Warehousing Mini Storage. Apparently, the business has been doing so for several years.
 
As a result of the discovery, Reno-Tahoe Airport, owner of the storage facility, has evicted Washoe Memorial from its premises. The funeral home has until the end of the month to move out.
 
According to local News 4, which checked with the Washoe County Health Department and the Nevada Funeral Board, there are no laws or regulations concerning the storage of bodies.

Will Leahy, owner of Washoe Memorial, said the bodies are stored in caskets in a large refrigerated unit and his business is fully licensed. He said the storage facility provided a cost-effective solution for his business, though he admits to not telling customers where the bodies were being stored. He will now store bodies at a local crematorium.
 
Source: My4News.com, Fact Finder: Embalmed bodies stashed in rented storage unit

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A fire erupted this morning at Adobe Self Storage in Indio, Calif. Firefighters arrived on scene at approximately 6:25 a.m. to find two units ablaze. About 24 firefighters and five engines were able to contain the fire. No injuries were reported.
 
While cleaning up after the blaze, firefighters found training rounds from World War II in one of the storage units. Police were called to the scene to ensure the ammunition was not active. The rounds were not found to be a threat.
 
The renters of the two self-storage units told a KPSP Local 2 crew on scene that they are upset, as they had many valuables stored. Firefighters have not provided a damage estimate. The cause of the fire is being investigated.
 
Source: KPSP Local 2, Fire at Storage Facility in Indio

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The board of trustees of U-Store-It Trust, a real estate investment trust focused on self-storage facilities, declared a quarterly dividend of $0.025 per common share for the period ending March 31, 2010. The dividend is payable on April 22, 2010, to common shareholders of record on April 7, 2010.
 
Based in Wayne, Pa., U-Store-It owns or manages 374 facilities nationwide and operates the U-Store-It Network, which consists of approximately 725 additional self-storage facilities.

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A man who allegedly robbed Lock-It-Up Self Storage on Airport Highway in Toledo, Ohio, has been charged with two counts of aggravated robbery. Police detectives said Enrique Flores visited the business on Monday, asking about renting a storage unit. When he was about to pay the manager, who opened the cash drawer, the suspect pulled out a gun. He escaped with some cash, but police caught and arrested him. Flores was arraigned Tuesday in municipal court, with bond set at $150,000.

Source: FOX Toledo, Lock-It-Up storage suspect arrested

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Last week Arizona House Bill 2643, which outlines the protocol for the sale and disposal of personal property contained in a self-storage unit when a customer defaults or abandons the goods, passed the Arizona House Commerce Committee. HB2643 would limit the liability of self-storage operators in the event that private information or "protected property" is found in the abandoned or defaulted unit during lien sale.
 
The bill seeks to impose certain requirements on the self-storage tenant and provide protection for the self-storage operator. It specifically aims to: 

• Subject the offending tenant to a penalty. 
  
• Require tenants who store protected property in a self-storage facility to disclose that fact to the operator.
  
• Prohibit the sale of protected property by a storage operator who that has been notified about the presence of protected property or discovers a tenant has abandoned such property. In lieu of a sale, the operator would be required to destroy the property or turn it over to a suitable state or federal agency. 
  
• Protect a storage operator from liability for destroying or disposing of protected property in the event of a default, as well as from liability to any tenant who abandons any materials that contain his or her own personal information. 
  
• Protect the storage operator from liability for the sale or other disposition of protected property when the tenant has not disclosed that the rented space would be used to store such things, or if it cannot be readily determined that the property may have been abandoned on the premises. 

The Arizona Self Storage Association is championing HB2643 with financial support from the national Self Storage Association. If successful, the bill could become a model for similar legislation in other states.

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Modular Mini Storage recently worked with a customer who wanted to build an RV-storage facility in a light-industrial zone. However, city planners had one stipulation—he needed to include some office space for small businesses. Two flex-space buildings were constructed, and every unit was leased to a commercial customer. Later, two more buildings were erected with the same result.
 
What is Flex Space?

Flex space is basically storage with some office space. Also known as incubator space, it’s a combination of warehouse, shop or light-manufacturing space with room for phones and a few desks. It provides entrepreneurs a place to start up and small firms a place to do business. As with self-storage, multiple tenants decrease the impact of vacancies.

In the case cited above, each building had four 700-square-foot office units with adjoining 1,400-square-foot warehouse bays. In addition, 14 -by-50-foot units without offices were included to broaden the project’s appeal to a wider group of potential tenants. Office units consisted of a reception area, two private offices and a restroom.

Units were leased for three to five years, so there was no need for a full-time manager, a Yellow Pages ad or a website. A simple newspaper ad attracted new tenants.

Drive aisles needed to be wide enough for a 4-foot walkway and 18-foot straight-in parking spaces in front of offices, plus a 30-foot drive. It was a minimum of 52 feet for offices on one side of the drive aisle, or 74 feet with offices on both sides. 

Offices and shops generally require more parking than warehouse space. Most of this can be accomplished in front of the tenant’s unit. Every municipality seems to have different standards, so self-storage owners might have to include more parking here or there.

 

Why Add Flex Space?

Self-storage projects can be a terrific investment, but it’s a daunting task to get financing right now. Not only are banks requiring smaller loan-to-value ratios, they want larger equity (customer cash and property ownership). Flex projects can be smaller in scale, often just one or two buildings, and easier to finance. 

In areas where the self-storage market is already saturated, flex space is worth consideration. Lot sizes can be smaller and location is less critical. This kind of project is allowed in various commercial and industrial zones where self-storage might not be.

Flex buildings can also complement an RV-storage facility. Larger RV spaces can be blended into flex-space buildings and appeal to commercial customers as well.

Potential customers include contractors of all kinds, small businesses, distributors, companies looking for a satellite location, and large RV owners. There’s a good market for this kind of space, especially at lower cost than the tilt-up concrete buildings prevalent in most business parks. In this economy, many companies would like to downsize into a more affordable space.  

 
 
Why Modular Mini Storage?

Modular Mini Storage’s pre-fabricated walls can easily be insulated, wired, plumbed, sheetrocked and sided with a variety of architectural finishes. Firewalls are no problem. Costs are much lower than concrete tilt-up, rigid-frame or framed-in-place construction. Foundations are simple turned-down slabs. Almost all walls are weight-bearing shear walls that distribute roof loads over the floor slab (no special footings to support trusses or rigid frames).

Modular Mini Storage has provided more than a 1,000 building kits in its 17 years, many specially designed for severe Northwest climates. The company pre-fabricates steel-framed walls in its Tualatin, Ore., shop to ensure quality, shorten construction time and lower costs. All exterior walls are double-wall construction, roofs are standing-seam with extra insulation, and partitions are specially designed to minimize condensation. Buildings are tight, well-insulated and energy-efficient.

Modular Mini Storage’s version of flex space includes 14-foot- to 30-foot-wide bays with 12-foot-wide by 14-foot-high doors. Walls are prefabricated in the shop and delivered to the site ready to stand in place. Interior office walls, windows, doors and insulation are included with the building kit.  Back-lit awnings are available for office fronts. Construction costs are about the same as a typical self-storage facility.

Environmentally green construction includes steel components with a high percentage of recycled steel, oriented-strand board made from fast-growing sustainable wood sources, and organic insulation with a binder that requires 70 percent less energy than oil-based binders.
Modular also provides site layouts, appropriate unit mixes and assists self-storage owners during the planning and permit process. 
 
Terry Wellner is an engineer and president of Modular Mini Storage, a building-kit manufacturer near Portland, Ore., that specializes in easy-to-build panelized self-storage, RV/boat storage and flex-space buildings. Mr. Wellner works with customers to help them make the best use of their properties by providing well-designed site layouts, appropriate unit mixes and buildings that best meet their needs. For more information, call 503.692.3532; e-mail [email protected].

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Armored Mini Storage of Albuquerque, N.M., has formed an alliance with Calvary Chapel East to bring food and essentials to the community at large. The idea for the "fishes-n-loaves" food pantry began when facility manager Brenda Solano contacted her church to inquire if there was some way her company could assist with its drives and collections.
 
Armored's sister company, Everest Self Storage, previously worked with representatives of Blue Star Mothers of America to help collect food and goods for the families of soldiers stationed overseas during the holidays. During the drive, volunteers at locations throughout southern California collected items and stored them in donated Everest units.
 
Armored Mini Storage is owned and operated by Everest Properties, a privately owned real estate investment management company with storage facilities in Arizona, California, Florida and parts of Canada.
 
Source: Earth Times, Albuquerque Self Storage Company Teams With Local Church to Help the Needy in the Area

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Strategic Storage Trust Inc., a publicly registered, non-traded real estate investment trust targeting the self-storage industry, has completed the transition to a new transfer agent. DST Systems Inc. will now handle the processing of new accounts, ongoing recordkeeping, transfers, tax reporting, account statements, distribution processing and other reporting for all of the company’s real estate investment programs.
 
The Strategic Storage Trust portfolio includes 26 self-storage properties in 14 states, comprising approximately 19,200 units and 2.3 million rentable square feet of space. The company’s sponsor is Strategic Capital Holdings, which manages a growing portfolio of more than 5.8 million square feet of commercial properties.
 
Based in Kansas City, Mo., DST is an information-processing and computer-software company serving the mutual fund, investment management, insurance and healthcare industries. In addition to technology products and services, DST provides integrated print and electronic statement and billing output solutions through a wholly owned subsidiary.

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Access Self Storage donated $405 this week to the Red Oak Independent School District Education Foundation. The money was raised during the grand opening of Access' new storage facility in Red Oak, Texas. 

For each person who attended the grand opening, the company made a donation. KBEC radio station helped promote the grand opening and fundraiser to encourage a large turnout in support of the foundation.   

Access Self Storage owner Doug Hunt presented the check to Tom Roger, president of the Red Oak Education Foundation. Hunt said he was pleased with the turnout and it was a privilege to partner with the foundation to help them raise money.

Access Self Storage has facilities in Dallas, Garland, and Lancaster, Texas.

From left: Tom Rogers, Renee Chase, Mary Rose Corrales,
Dr. Curtis  Begin, David Hunt, Doug Hunt, Annette Adamcik,
Traci Gamel, Janet Watts, Andrea Walton

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